


The Solitude of Quarantine

by goalielove43



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Bisexuality, Confessions, F/M, Frottage, Hand Jobs, M/M, NHL RPF, Oral Sex, Pining, Playoffs, Polyamory, Quarantine, Washington Capitals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:15:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23582224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goalielove43/pseuds/goalielove43
Summary: Garnet's not taking quarantine as well as he'd like and it leads him to making a few confessions. The end of quarantine brings with it a lack of holding back.
Relationships: Nic Dowd/Garnet Hathaway, Nic Dowd/Paige Dowd
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	The Solitude of Quarantine

**Author's Note:**

> Not meant to be the truth about any of these people.

It wasn't like he'd ever meant for this to happen. In fact he'd done everything in his power to ensure it didn't. He'd held himself just the slightest bit reserved, had never told Nic a single thing about how he was actually the exact kind of person Garnet would normally be attracted to. In fact, he hadn't told him he was into guys at all or that if he had to make a statement as to what his sexuality was, he'd have said the words _mostly gay, maybe a little bi_. He never told him about all the ex-boyfriends in his past or about the few girlfriends and how it'd inevitably been them leaving him for what they perceived as his lack of interest. He never said how he felt trapped in the NHL because it was so much harder to hide who he was here. No, he hid all of that away to try to keep from letting himself fall for Nic; something he'd known from the very first week would be amazingly easy to do. 

The thing was, it hadn't mattered in the end. Hadn't mattered because despite Nic's marriage and Nic's probable straightness... he'd fallen for him anyway. 

So here he was, just him and his dog and this world where he was stuck in quarantine, alone and aching to hear Nic's voice way more often than was socially acceptable to want to hear from a friend.

He sat and he thought about it from every angle; berated himself or talked himself into telling Nic how he felt and right behind it talked himself right back out of it. He thought for hours about how he would say it; how he'd sit Nic down and make all his confessions, starting with how he preferred men. Sometimes he let himself imagine dragging the confessions out over weeks or months. First telling Nic he was mostly gay, letting it sink in to make sure his reactions were everything Garnet thought they would be. He imagined acceptance and a gentle smile, possibly a ribbing about how Nic had known or suspected all along. He imagined essentially nothing would change. Nic didn't pull away or touch him less. Nic was still the same caring, happy Nic and Garnet would just be the same guy with a confession free on the air between them and maybe he'd feel like he could breathe a little more.

He imagined months going by before he confessed the next part, just a gentle slide toward him showing a bit more of his affections, letting his adoring looks be a little more obvious. He imagined his embarrassed confession, a little heat in his cheeks, a bit of breathlessness hedging up inside his lungs. Just the same as he imagined Nic smiling and making any of his own confessions that meant he wouldn't have to give up anything. Nic could still have Paige, could still be a father, could love Garney just the same. He imagined the ideal and how he could learn to love Paige, too. How he'd be with Nic's kiddo, how he'd love being in their family and how he'd love to be quarantined with them instead of alone, an integral part of their lives and genuinely allowed to be there.

Sometimes the thoughts went further than that, allowed him to imagine kissing Nic or how they'd grant themselves alone time on trips, squirreled away in hotel rooms, how they'd steal a minute before a podcast to kiss until they were breathless. He imagined sharing a bed and resting his head on Nic's shoulder, closing his eyes, and drifting off into pleasant oblivion. It felt simple, felt like something he wanted to be the truth, but it also felt like the lie it was. 

He knew he couldn't tell him, couldn't ever chance ruining Nic's life with Paige or their friendship. Nothing in him wanted to be the cause of a broken home or the cause of their friendship splitting at the seams. 

So as much time as he spent wrapped up in the imagined freedom of being himself and being entirely truthful with Nic, he also spent some time in the darker places, reminding himself of the damage it could cause, of all the numerous reasons why he couldn't ever say a word. Why he wouldn't.

By day twenty, he thought he'd made a decision. He'd tell Nic his preferences because he wanted someone in the NHL to confide in. He'd tell him about the guys in his past if he asked, but only if he did. He'd admit why he was telling him: that he needed to be honest about himself with someone he considered a close friend, someone he thought might support him. Someone who might stand there beside him if everything went to shit and his past exploded all over his present.

It took three days before he found an opportunity, a private Facetime conversation with Nic. Nic outside on his porch, Garney stretched out on his lawn, his heart beating a little too fast for being completely stationary, Nic looking sun-kissed and gorgeous and just being _right there_ , right where Garney was allowed to stare at him.

They were in the middle of talking about some gardening plans Paige had made from some bulbs she'd ordered in the mail. A bit late in the season, but the time was good and yeah the house was a rental, but it was okay. 

Garnet was paying attention; he could have parroted back the last ten minutes in conversation if he had to, but his mind was also working up the courage to say what he wanted to. He'd determined this was the best way and the best time. It gave Nic time to get used to the idea before seeing him in person again, it gave him time if he had to school himself into being okay with it if he wasn't. More, it gave enough time that if things were different when they got back, maybe Garnet wouldn't notice as much. It was as close to ideal as he could ever have.

He could feel his heart thumping all they way up in his throat, his entire body feeling vaguely shaky despite not being at all. He must have had a look on his face that betrayed some or all of that because Nic stopped mid-sentence about lilacs and murmured, "Hey, you okay, man?"

Garney took in a fortifying breath, closed his eyes, and made his decision. Opening his eyes, he found and held Nic's questioning gaze and just let himself speak. "Kinda need to get something off my chest... is that... cool?"

Nic gave him that smile that told him he shouldn't have needed to ask and nodded, murmuring, "Always."

"I uh..." he looked past his phone, toward the house and then back to Nic, forcing himself to say it to Nic's face, not to his vague presence on the other end of the phone line. "I'm into guys. Like... more so than girls, really. It's old news, but I haven't told anyone since I got to the NHL, you know? Just... I kinda want to be able to be honest with someone and I figure you won't judge me for it, so... yeah."

It took a lot to stare at Nic while he said it, to see his complete lack of surprise, to see the fact that he didn't flinch or do anything other than offer him a small smile at the end of his commentary. "I'm glad you trust me. I think it's good for us all to have someone who really knows us. It's healthy."

Garnet felt something unclench inside him, the vague unease he'd been feeling draining out of him. It was about what he'd expected to hear, honestly, and that helped a lot.

"I like girls more than guys." There was a tiny smirk playing at Nic's lips when he said it and Garney laughed, shaking his head.

"Like a hundred percent more?" He snorted, figuring Nic was just giving his wording shit. 

"Nah, probably more like twenty-five, seventy-five."

That part caught Garney off guard, gave him pause, and he was left half-gaping at the screen, ultimately taking this whole thing way less gracefully than Nic had taken his announcement. "Uh... you serious?"

Nic laughed. "Yeah, yeah I am. You should see your face right now. It's sort of hilarious. You know, more than usual."

"Thanks, you ass."

"You're welcome."

They tied things up after that on the phone and once they were off, Garnet laid there in the grass, staring up at the sky for what felt like hours. It felt freeing in a way, but it also felt crushing, like he'd done something he could very easily come to regret. Not because he thought Nic would tell anyone or be an asshole about it. More because now his most closely guarded secret was out there, waving in the wind like it didn't have a single care in the world and that made him a danger to himself. One beer too many, one free comment too far and he'd be up shit creek. 

It ate at him over the next twenty-four hours and he kept finding himself sitting somewhere taking steadying breaths and hoping against all hope that he was going to be okay. He ordered groceries in a numb sort of fog and when it came time to unpack them, he couldn't figure out why he'd ordered half of it. It felt like the same disorganized mess his brain was and somehow that was less surprising than it should have been. 

When his phone began to ding, indicating an incoming Facetime call, he could barely breathe when he pulled it out to see Nic's contact on the screen. He wasn't sure he could survive seeing his friend on the screen right then, but reflex beat him to the punch and he'd answered it before he considered the consequences. He stood there, hands shaking as he stared down at the screen, at Nic's smiling face as it shifted to concerned. 

"Garney? Hey... Hath? Hey, buddy, are you okay? Do I need to call someone?"

He finally got his voice operating, closing his eyes and shaking his head a little. "No... no, I'm good, just..." he winced and tipped his head back, forcing himself to look at the ceiling instead of the inside of his eyelids while he collected himself. "Having a day, sorry."

Nic was quiet for a minute and Garnet looked back at him, finding his friend's gaze a little sad, but his face trying to be hopeful. "Maybe... we can go walk the dogs six feet apart?"

Garnet shook his head, forcing his eyes to focus on his friend's face. "No, you shouldn't go out with the baby to worry about. Just a hard day is all." It left something sick inside him to be lying to Nic of all people, to make him feel like it wasn't about him, about _them_ , but he wasn't sure what else to do. Bringing it up meant admitting how he felt outside of the bounds of friendship and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

His breath wavered as he let it out as slowly as he could, aiming for some semblance of normal. He thought about Paige and Louie and how much he cared about them both and how he could never _ever_ disappoint them and hedged himself away from the fearful line of saying things he shouldn't. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he felt shaky or upset or this far gone from his usual self and all he could think was that it had to be being cooped up in quarantine like this. Normal Garney wouldn't have damn near had a panic attack over answering a phone. Normal Garney was, to quote Ovi, a ham-fest, not a disaster. 

Pushing away from the counter, he headed for the kitchen table, settling into one of the chairs and studying Nic on the other side of the phone, silent and so obviously concerned. "I think I'm going stir-crazy. Plus... was a little afraid you might look at me differently if I'm being honest here." It felt better than the lies he could have been spewing, that was for sure.

"I'd never treat you different for telling me what you did, man. Would you treat me different for what I told you?" Garnet shook his head immediately and Nic grinned at him. "See? Same."

Some clenched up part of him eased and he almost wanted to laugh at himself for thinking Nic would ever change who he was that fundamentally. It just didn't make any sense. But then again, fear rarely did. "Yeah, it's like I know that, but some part of my brain was off in left field."

"Well... get out of left field then. We don't play baseball anyway."

Garney snorted, unable to help himself, and Nic laughed, the sound making him feel lighter than he had since he'd hung up the last call. 

"Go get on your bike. We'll do our morning workout together today, okay?"

He knew Nic's schedule like he knew his own and this definitely wasn't bike day, but he wasn't going to argue either. Rather, he got up and headed into his workout room, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and popped it into the holder and mounted his bike. He settled his phone into the cradle for it and made sure the tilt was right to show his face, and muttered, "Alright, Coach, how many miles?"

"A million. Then give me fifty." Nic's voice sounded half-low-pitched and half-strangled while he obviously tried not to laugh. 

"Five it is, you jerk."

"Whatever you say, Hath. Whatever you say."

Weeks went by the same way as they had prior to Garney's confession. They talked three or four times a week at length, but now with the added daily workout Facetime in which they were mostly silent, but there for one another in phone-proximity, and really that was kind of the same as having one another there during practice anyway. A steady presence, though silent, and it helped in ways Garnet hadn't expected. He felt less like he was alone in his house, with only his dog as company. Sure, the other guys texted or chatted at times, but it wasn't the same and never for as long as it was with Nic and the reality was, it never had been the same. 

They recorded another episode of the Podcast while on Zoom with one another and spent far too long joking around to get anything useful done on it, but he was certain that wouldn't matter in the slightest to people cooped up at home like they were. 

He went for runs later at night, hoping to avoid people, which he managed quite well, and he ordered far more dog toys and stupid useless shit he didn't need than he ever had before. He put his mail in twenty-four hour holding and washed his hands, kept a running tally of what he could touch and what he couldn't and fretted about groceries not being able to be quarantined before being put away. It felt like being too paranoid and not paranoid enough at exactly the same time. He texted the guys and warned them to do the same with their mail and only a few told him he was mental while the others agreed or showed him their similar procedures. Willy and Nic and Ovi had already been doing it, which made him feel less like he was being paranoid.

He lifted weights and did yoga and found puzzles in his old boxes from home he'd never unpacked and set them up on various tables, doing three or four at a time. When he finished one, he shoved it off the edge of the table just to see what it'd do when it hit the floor and then spent far too long cleaning it up for him to ever do that again.

He binge-watched TV shows he'd meant to watch for years, listened to his XM radio on full blast through his Echo, played too many hours of video games he was actually really bad at, and longed to talk to Nic between every call they had. 

The thing was, it wasn't a new feeling. He'd felt like this plenty when they were apart and there was something about knowing it wasn't new that kept him at least a tiny bit sane. 

They took a break from workouts for a weekend and somehow took a break from talking at the same time. Mondy morning, his doorbell rang and when he went to peer outside to see what on earth was happening, he saw only a package on his porch. He opened the door and grabbed his gloves to move it to quarantine, but stopped when he heard the quiet, "Hey, Garney," from the other end of his porch. Looking up, he took in Nic's presence, all the way on the other side of the porch and he just stood there like a dolt, staring at him with an open mouth.

"Brought you some stuff. A few more puzzles, some snacks, and a few other things Paige thought you might be out of or just want. I figured I could stick around a little bit as long as I'm way over here, you know?" He looked... hopeful, maybe a little upset under it, and Garney carefully moved the box inside and got rid of his gloves, stepping back out and moving to lean on the pillar furthest from Nic.

"Yeah, sure... my turn though, are you okay?"

"It's getting under my skin. Not really seeing anyone for real, not interacting outside of my own home. Outside being a middle of the night or within a car activity. It's... it's bad. And waking up all the time with Louie. You'd think I'd be used to it, but yesterday I about lost it when he woke up screaming at like 3am. I just needed a break and I thought... maybe you might need me."

Garney crossed his arms loosely over his chest and gave Nic a small smile. "I do. I haven't seen anyone, not even the delivery people, you know? This," he gestured between them, "is the first human interaction I've had since we left practice the last time."

"I wish you weren't alone."

"I have Finn."

"And I'm glad, but a dog isn't human interaction and you know it." Nic's voice was amused despite the gravity of his statement. Garney shrugged and then made a vague gesture in Nic's direction. "But this is nice... just not sure it's safe for you with Louie and all."

"I'm like twelve feet from you, dude, it's fine. If I contract shit from someone who's clearly not sick from this far away, then we're all fucked anyway."

"Fair enough." Garney glanced to the side and then nodded toward the chairs on his porch. "Have a seat." He settled on the wooden slats against the pillar and watched Nic move a chair a bit to sit facing him. 

It was nice, he wasn't going to lie. Seeing someone and that someone being Nic of all people. It made life just a little bit easier and he wondered if this was a thing that could happen sometimes. Just sometimes, maybe every other week for a half hour or so. Just to keep sanity. After all, it wasn't like they weren't in complete isolation other than that. They probably weren't the vectors anyone was worried about and they were still keeping their distance. Though, he wondered if that was how anyone else would see it. Probably not. Maybe not. He also wasn't sure he'd make it out the other side of this if it lasted much longer without something tiny like this once in a while.

The world... was a fucked up place.

They talked for what felt like hours though a glance at his watch told him it had only been twenty or so minutes when Nic gave him a regretful look and stood, putting the chair back when it'd been. "If I'm gone much longer, Paige will have my head for leaving her cooped up while I got to be outside. It's about time for her walk."

"She take Arlo?" Garney shifted a little, biting his lip after he spoke, really not wanting Nic to leave, but knowing he had no real choice in the matter. He debated asking for socially distant walks or more of these visits or _something_. Anything really. But he also didn't want to put Nic in a position to endanger Paige or Louie in any way.

"Yeah, sometimes. Today is her day with him."

"He'll be pissed if he misses the walk, too." Garnet pushed himself up and headed to his door, opening the screen and stepping inside. He paused and studied Nic, allowing himself to murmur, "Be safe, man," before he disappeared inside, Nic's echo of his words following him in and staying with him as he closed the door and locked it. 

He leaned again the wood and closed his eyes, barely breathing out, "I miss you already," before pushing away from the door and heading deeper into his house, in search of something to take his mind off this disaster of a time they were living in.

After that, Nic texted several times a day, even if Garney hadn't responded, he'd find his phone discarded on a table somewhere in his house with three or four messages, all of them attempts to be pleasant or somewhat happy. He got dog and baby pics, random walk videos, messages just to say hi, and various discount code texts. Twice he got texts that told him to open his front door only for him to find random items. Once it was a 50 lb bag of dog food and he had a good laugh over that after dragging it to the back porch for storage. 

He replied back when he could and thought constantly about getting in his car and driving to Nic's place to stand on his front walk and leave him something in return. He didn't until a full week had gone by since his last care package on his porch. He baked the most unhealthy thing he could imagine and took it along with a few paperbacks to Nic's place. 

Standing on the tiny porch, he bit his lip, debating ringing the bell and retreating down the walkway to wait. Debated texting and at least waving through the window. In the end, he set his little box down and headed back down the walk and out toward his car without a word. He got all the way in the car before his phone began to ring and Nic's breathless voice greeted him when he answered. "Wait!"

"Just... sit in the car and wait for a second. Windows up, okay?"

He waited, watched the house, but saw no one. It wasn't until there was a tap on his window that he jerked a little and looked over, seeing Nic standing there with Arlo in his arms, a grin on his face and he pressed the dog's paw to the glass. Garney lifted his hand and put his palm on the glass on his side and just smiled. 

Nic put the dog down and then pressed his own palm to the glass where Garney hadn't moved his away just yet and they stayed there, probably looking like complete dolts, utterly uncaring about any of that. Garnet closed his eyes and wished like hell there weren't glass between them, that he could touch and feel and that there'd be warmth and human contact. When he opened them, he could see the sadness in Nic's face. "I miss you," he murmured and to his surprise, he heard Nic reply, "I miss you, too, bud."

It wasn't that things were easier after that, it was just that he knew Nic really cared. Because if he didn't, who the hell did that kind of shit? Showing up at his house with care packages, hurrying in from a walk to show him his dog and standing there with their palms pressed against the glass. Sure it was all still very much friendship-based, nothing about it screaming anything more than that. But it was something for him to hold close to his heart, to tuck deep inside where he kept all the things that mattered. 

Back into quarantine he went, routine becoming his savior, groceries delivered like clockwork, workouts twice a day, dog walks once a day, yard activities another time a day, and sleep happening only when it was supposed to, his schedule surprisingly early since he was trying to be awake as much of the time as Nic as he possibly could be. He kept his phone on him then, tucked in his pocket, volume turned unreasonably high, and he used it as a lifeline, replying quickly so he stood a chance of getting more than one message at a time. Intentionally saying more about each picture or item he was sent to look at so he wouldn't be dismissed after one text. And Nic... Nic never disappointed. Sometimes there were ten or twenty texts before they stopped. Sometimes only four, but always more than two.

The end of April came and went and while there were truly bad days where he couldn't so much as bring himself to get properly dressed, there were more good days knowing he and Nic were communicating. Texts and Facetimes and the occasional porch dropoff kept happening, though things like the glass didn't happen again and each time it didn't, it made just another tiny crack in his resolve to never tell Nic all the things he felt. 

By the time the NHL made up its mind on how to structure playoffs and they were given a place to do them - and subjected to the horrible nose swab test from hell - he'd pretty much made up his mind he'd tell Nic in some offhanded fashion, even if he didn't believe him when he did it.

He drove his happy ass all the way to North Dakota, resting in his car as they'd been told to do, wearing gloves and a mask for all out-of-car activities. The first thing he did at the rink was decontaminate with a long shower and maybe too much soap and when he walked out, only a towel around his waist and Nic was standing there, it took everything in him not to just fling himself at him and hug the shit out of him. Instead, he stood aside and let Nic into the showers and contained himself for as long as it took for Nic to decontaminate as well.

Nothing stopped him from grabbing him fresh from the shower, still damp and a little breathless, and hugging him close, one hand burying itself in his hair, the other tight around his back, his nose pressed to Nic's neck as everything in him unwound. 

Nic hugged him back just as hard, just as completely, holding him close by the back of the head and a hand clamped tight on his bicep. They stood there for far too long to be considered socially acceptable by friend standards, but neither of them made a move to stop it until footsteps in the corridor pulled them apart, though not by more than a few inches.

TJ's amused voice cut through to them, the sound of his bag hitting the floor letting them know he wasn't letting any of this stop him. "I'd say get a room, but that's not safe right now, so... screw the room. Or, ya know, each other. _Finally_."

Garney waited, his skin tingling, half expecting Nic to move away afer a comment like that. Instead, he heard his soft laugh so close to him and he relaxed as he was drawn back in. In the next instant, he had to choke back a whimper as Nic's lips brushed against his. 

Everything he'd been holding back fell to the outside and before he could regulate himself, he had his mouth pressed hot over Nic's, his hand gripping his hair so tight it had to hurt, and he closed the gap of all the space between them, straight up rocking his hips against him.

TJ murmured an almost reverent, " _Damn_ ," before his footsteps retreated, padding off toward the shower, and removing him from any care Garney had in the entire world. All that mattered was Nic. Nic and this kiss and the fact that they were kissing _each other_ and _God_ , it was a thing of beauty and passion and lust. It was all so much, a sensory overload for him and he wondered just how long Nic had been holding this back. 

Every time he thought maybe he should give it a second, pull back and let Nic breathe, Nic would renew the depth of their kiss, pull him just a little closer, rock his hips back against Garney's just the slightest.

It felt like it went on forever and it was only someone clearing their throat that yanked them apart from one another, left them flushed and Nic definitely trying to hide certain parts of his anatomy behind Garnet as they both turned toward the sound.

Holtby stood in the doorway to the locker room, one hand holding the edge of the door with it mostly closed behind him. His gaze flicked between them and then pointedly down before he arched his eyebrows and tipping his head toward the door he was holding. "Three more behind me, thirty seconds maybe."

Nic turned toward his stall, quickly dropping his towel and busying himself with getting his jock and underarmor on and then a jersey pulled down over the most incriminating evidence. Garney just stood there, flushed and pleased and tingling and frankly less than terrified at the moment. He'd thought for sure he'd panic, being outed to two people in the span of a few minutes, but it seemed no one was judging him so far. He gave Holtby a small smile and turned toward his own stall just as Holtby released the door and moved to him, his hand skimming lightly over Garnet's back. "No judgement, in case you were worried."

He shot Holtby a thankful smile and saw Nic do the same, Holtby's hand lightly touching the back of Nic's neck before he moved on toward his stall.

Vrana, Ilya, and Ovi traipsed in, chatting away, clearly mid-conversation until Ovi loudly announced, "Hockey!" and the sentiment was echoed from TJ in the showers.

Garney settled in his stall and watched everyone come in, shower, and then start to converse, more and more of the team arriving until they were all there and it was honestly just an enormous relief that he couldn't begin to describe. His outet, the thing he did to regulate, to live, was back and he thanked everything he had for that. 

They practiced hard and it was quickly clear which of them had kept up on training and which of them hadn't. They were all a little rusty on ice, but not overly so, at least not the point it didn't wear off by the end of the session, but some of them were okay while others were a shaky mess at the end. Which, was sort of a given since a few of the guys lived in apartments and their outlets had been few and far between while cooped up in such a place.

They all took tiny bottles of hand sanitizer the staff handed them and headed out, bound for the three huge houses the league had rented out for them to use during playoffs. Nic stopped him, Vrana following behind, as he got in his car. "Hey, they didn't put us in the same house... but Vrana offered to swap if you want. Or not. Whatever."

Garney leaned against his door, arm propped over the top, and gave Nic an easy smile. "Sure, thanks, man."

They exchanged keys, Vrana giving him a look something that seemed suspiciously knowing and really the way Vrana and TJ hung out all the time, that wasn't a surprise.

Vrana left and Nic smiled. "Two to a room...?" It was a question as much as it was an offer and Garney felt his arousal from earlier return full-force. He lightly scraped his teeth over his bottom lip and did his best to hide his huge grin. "Yeah."

The drive to the house, in his car, all alone was torture. He was aroused and kept rubbing at his dick through his jeans every time he caught a light. Honestly, he was about five minutes from taking it out and frantically beating one out just to calm down a little. He didn't, but it was a close sort of thing and by the time he arrived at the house and found a parking space, he had to make real sure he pulled his t-shirt down to cover the small stain of precum on his pants. Well, that and the massive hard-on he had going on.

Walking in, he found several envelopes on the table, each marked with a name. Vrana's sat right next to his own and he quickly picked them both up, dumping the keys into his hand and seeing if the matched. They didn't, so he rooted around until he found the matching one to his and swapped it for the one in Vrana's envelope. 

Settling the envelope back on the table, he glanced out the window, seeing Holtby and Ilya coming up the walk. He smiled and then darted off up the stairs, checking the number engraved on the key against the doors until he found his and unlocked it, slipping inside and locking the door back behind him.

He chose the bed closest to the window and dumped his stuff at the foot of it, kicking off his shoes and toeing off his socks. Next came his belt and all the crap in his pockets and then the tiny bag he kept of sex supplies in his luggage, which he ditched onto the dresser. Settling on the bed, he palmed his cock, rubbing the aching length of it through his jeans, rocking his hips into his own touch, eager and just a little needy. He hoped like hell he hadn't been misreading anything about Nic's suggestion.

He didn't stop rubbing his dick when he heard the key in the lock and the surprise on Nic's face made him blush and reach for the hem of his shirt, tugging it down over what he'd been doing.

The door closed and Nic locked it, dropped his stuff, and within seconds, he had himself an arm full of his line-mate, Nic's mouth hot against his own, body eagerly covering his, urging him back on the bed. Shoes hit the floor and that was it, they were both gone, just a messy pile on the bed, eagerly rocking and kissing and breathing hard against one another's mouths. Nic moaned, the sound loud in the otherwise silent room, and it was with great pleasure that he grabbed Nic's ass, squeezing the lovely globes harshly, kneading and spreading and rubbing, urging for more grinding.

He could feel Nic's cock pressing up against him, warm and hard and so obvious even through both sets of clothes. They broke the kiss and Nic's hands skimmed down his chest and began to work his pants open, delving in without hesitation and pulling Garney's cock free of his pants. He arched into the touch, back tensing, thighs trembling, his arousal off the scales so completely that he had no idea which way was up anymore. Nic began to stroke him and Garney tried to reach for him, to pull him back down, to do something _anything_ , but Nic just leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, whispering, "Just let me do this for you. Return the favor in a minute. We're both too pent up."

Shaky, Garney let Nic relieve him. They worked together, Garnet rocking his hips and Nic stroking him in all the best ways until Garney was so hard he could barely think, his balls so tight they hurt. He let out a long, low groan and then he was cumming, pleasure so intense, he could barely breathe washing over him. He spurted for what felt like forever, absolutely ruining his shirt as Nic let him squirt all over it.

He eased up, slowly settling back against the bed, blinked a few times, and then peered up at Nic, at his blown pupils, at his flushed cheeks, his parted lips, at everything he'd wanted to see on Nic since nearly the first day he'd known him.

He tugged him down for a kiss, working to get their positions swapped and then he slid down between Nic's legs, hands eagerly opening his pants and sliding them down enough to reveal his length. First, he touched, stroking ever so lightly and cradling him in his palm, thumbing the slick head just barely peeking past foreskin and then licking his thumb to taste the salt of it. The urge to suck overwhelmed him and he lifted Nic's cock from where it rested against his belly and slid his mouth over the tip, slowly going down on him, easing himself into taking most of it. Nic's hand slid into his hair, but he didn't push or pull, just rested there, a warm assuring presence and he felt that much better for it. He took his time, bobbing his head and exploring with his tongue, memorizing how Nic's cock felt in his mouth in case he never got to do this again. He licked and sucked and it was only when his own arousal swelled within him again that he stopped holding back and began to suck him like he meant it, earning low moans and gasps, the bed faintly creaking under their movement as Garney rutted his stiff dick against the comforter.

Nic barely warned him before he was cumming, the hot rush of it filling his mouth to overflowing. He swallowed what he could and let the rest drool out over his hand and Nic's cock and sucked even more eagerly as he orgasmed for him, humping frantically against the covers, moaning loud around Nic's cock as his own twitched against the bed, his balls emptying themselves a second time, this time deep in the warm folds of the comforter.

Lifting up off Nic's length, he let Nic wipe the corners of his mouth and allowed himself to be rolled over out of his mess, Nic moving to straddle him, easing their bodies against one another, cocks softening side-by-side as they kissed themselves down from the high of their orgasms. 

When they finally parted enough to clean the bed and then flop next to each other on it, Nic was the first to speak, his fingertips lightly tracing over Garney's jaw. "Don't worry about Paige, she already knew this was gonna happen, okay?"

Garney blinked at him, considered the statement, and chose to believe it, nodding against Nic's palm. "Okay."

"I got hockey and you back all in the same day... sounds like the best kind of day, doesn't it?"

Garney smiled, his heart warm and happy and his body tingly. He slid his hand over Nic's waist and drew himself closer, angling in to kiss him. Just before their lips touched, he murmured, "Best day of my life."


End file.
